So when the Boston Marathon organizers offered racers the ability to opt out of Monday's event because of the high heat index, Barkeley knew what he had to do.

Barkeley has climbed Mount Kiliminjaro and Mount Quandary, he's led a group of teens with hearing loss on a trek through the Peruvian Amazon as part of the No Barriers organization, which aims to help people with disabilities lead more full and active lives.

He's also legally blind and deaf.

No, weather wasn't going to stop Bill Barkeley.

Barkeley, 50, finished the race in 4 hours and 59 minutes in his first marathon as temperatures rose to nearly 90 degrees.

"They had 4,300 people bail out of the race and then they had 2,000 people go into the medical tent," Barkeley said.

Barkeley found the finish line, then the tent.

"When I got to the finish line, I was in the medical tent," Barkeley said. "I was vomiting, I had heat exhaustion. There were people massaging my legs because I had cramps. I just couldn't get my breath and couldn't get cooled down."

A large part of the reason in running the marathon was to raise money for the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Barkeley joined other runners and supporters in that quest to help the organization that's been working with him to adapt to his disabilities since 1989.

"(The team) raised over $320,000 for Massachusetts Eye and Ear for the research, so that was really cool," Barkeley said.

"That's what got me through the hard parts, because if I finished the marathon I knew I could continue to help those people."

More of an outdoors adventurist than runner, Barkeley trained extensively for his first marathon.

"I did really well up to about mile 24, then I had to walk some of the next few miles and it was just everything that I could do just to get to the end," he said.

Barkeley's three sons Will, John and Brian, sister-in-law Katie Millman and John's girlfriend Anne Kash Dobbins took turns guiding Bill through the race. They wore bluetooth headsets so they could communicate with him, warning him about potholes, turns and other obstacles on the race course.

"They were doing me an incredible service," Barkeley said.

"Most times when people run they don't have anybody with them, but for me I had a fresh face with me, encouraging me," he said.

Even though the conditions were the toughest the race has seen in many years, Barkeley couldn't get over how welcoming the people of Boston were.

"People had their hoses spraying on the racers as we past their homes, it was incredible," he said.

"Last night I got into a cab to go to dinner with my wife and the charlie horses kicked in," Barkeley said, straightening all his limbs out and laughing. "I had to ride all the way to the restaurant that way."

He's still feeling the effects now that he's back in Grand Rapids and is taking the next few days to relax and recover.

But is he thinking about what the next journey will be?

"I don't try to pick the adventure as much as just being open to it," he said.

"It's usually about 'how do we get the most impact to get the message across about changing perceptions,'" he said.

"We try to use these challenges to get people to realize that it's more about what's within you is much greater than what's in your way."